Synecdoche, New York

I won't say this is the best movie I've ever seen, but I can't think of one better.

Victory (delayed post)

So much to say about Obama's victory, how even calling it "Obama's victory" seems a ridiculous understatement. But, for now, here is a photo of me and Jed after Obama's acceptance speech.



Many more posts coming in December. Lo siento.

Fish, Obama, and Jesus

As you likely know, Obama is gaining momentum heading into next week's election. This campaign has lasted, what, two years? I think the length of the campaign cycle needs to change in the future, but I'm not optimistic that it will. And after all this, it feels like a lot of heads are coming together from various corners of the country--many camps, so to speak--to try to avoid what I'd call a catastrophic collapse between now and next Tuesday. From Greg Oden to Stanley Fish. Frankly, if this doesn't excite you, I might consider you disengaged in one way or another.

On Sunday, Fish wrote in the NY Times about Obama's patient, passive approach to campaigning, comparing him to Jesus. A stretch? Well, I'm not the person to comment on whether the connection is entirely accurate or not, but it's quite an impressive rhetorical move by Fish to draw this particular sketch one week before the election.

(And before you say, "oh, like all the liberal sheep haven't treated him like Jesus for months now," just check out the article. Not all of Obama's supporters blindly praise and follow his every word. Yeah, I've grown defensive in this area.)

Live and direct from the Pangea Café

I'm sitting at Pangea in the MU finishing my lunch. Dinner last night was two pints of Lagunitas IPA at American Dream, so I threw in a Rice Krispies treat today in addition to a hummus and pesto wrap. That makes no sense, I know, but I was hungry and won't be having any dinner (two pints of IPA again?) until late because the final presidential debate is on at 6 tonight. I am hoping McCain doesn't try anything desperate; Palin has grown increasingly out of line lately, and I fear cable news networks, in attempting to be even-handed, are letting the GOP off the hook. Frank Rich agrees. On Monday the Washington Post released the results of a recent poll showing Obama firmly ahead of McCain nationally, and in typically red states.

I'm going to share a Carver poem I thought about earlier today.

Photograph of My Father in His Twenty-Second Year
Raymond Carver

October. Here in this dank, unfamiliar kitchen
I study my father's embarrassed young man's face.
Sheepish grin, he holds in one hand a string
of spiny yellow perch, in the other
a bottle of Carlsbad Beer.

In jeans and denim shirt, he leans
against the front fender of a 1934 Ford.
He would like to pose bluff and hearty for his posterity,
Wear his old hat cocked over his ear.
All his life my father wanted to be bold.

But the eyes give him away, and the hands
that limply offer the string of dead perch
and the bottle of beer. Father, I love you,
yet how can I say thank you, I who can't hold my liquor either,
and don't even know the places to fish?

Gettin' Mavericky

This just isn't getting old. SNL is legit again.

(So busy. More words, fewer videos someday.)

This was a night.

One of Portland's finest bands, Starfucker, Sept. 18 at Doug Fir on Burnside. In 4 parts. One of the coolest venues I've ever been to, with cool people, drinking $2 bottles of PBR. Good nights end with dance parties, cartwheels.
1:

2:

3:

4:

It's raining, school's in

Week one of the Fall 2008 term is basically over for me -- I'll be working in my office Friday for a few hours before the Rays look to go up 2-0 on the White Sox; this postseason I'm a Rays fan. And dammit, I'm taking a few hours to watch it despite having a lot of work to do this weekend. I taught my first college classes this week (Tuesdays and Thursdays 4-5:20) and everything went well, as expected; in fact, I'm fortunate that I don't have any distracting or sleepy students in my class at all. My friend Adam and I were talking tonight about how we pull some energy from our students and feel pretty good at the end of a long week when class goes well. And it's been a long week.

I'm nervous about how much time I'll have to devote to Spanish. I've completed 9 weeks of Spanish classes (this summer) and there's no way to speak the language as well as some of the other students in my 211 class. I have to take 211, 212, and 213 this year, and I understand about half of what the instructor says in class, maybe less; she was also my instructor this summer. The grad director in our program now tells me the English Department is considering dropping the MA language requirement next year or after that and, he asks, what do I think?

Anyway it might be my Spanish class that drives me to insanity this term, or at least to really erasing my weekends and working late each night of the week. I don't usually break form with commas like in this blog's title. I've been thinking more about writing creatively lately and missing it a lot. A friend made a squash and beets dinner last night and we drank Rogue's Dead Guy Ale and wine until very late on a Wednesday when maybe I could have been doing thesis reading. The Spanish instructor today listed me as one of about ten students in class who hadn't done any of the online homework yet, just as a reminder. I immediately identified a few new students who are favorites because of their energy and interest and engagement but really, they're all fantastic and I'm glad my week in the classroom ends on Thursday evenings.

There's always more to write about. Pete agrees, he's living hour to hour right now, too. My grandfather turns 93 on Saturday and I wish I could spend more time with him. The air in Corvallis smells like rain and fields.

Painfully accurate

Sometimes, efforts to be "balanced" and "fair" by big media are nothing more than attempts to appease conservatives (I am not talking about Fox News). Maybe, just maybe, a few major networks have learned something since 2004 about the role they play in American politics. This election should not be a close call.

(Notice, if you can stand to, that CNN's coverage is largely about how the candidates go about "attacking" one another, and how they respond to these "attacks.")

Like it or not, Jon Stewart and Tina Fey are really important figures right now, as cable news ratings climb and print newspaper circulation continues to fall.



Here is the real interview:

Saturday Evening Post (yeah, I did it)

There was this blonde kid, in high school, who played basketball for the rival team, the North Dickinson Nordics, and he also wore #13. We were about the same size (I was faster, he was stronger), and we played the same position so we were matched up against each other quite a bit over roughly 5 years, going back to junior high. After high school, I'd see him in a dining hall near my dormitory at NMU, and he'd wave and I'd nod my head but I didn't even know his name after all that time. He stood out a bit because he was one of the only students who would cross himself and pray before eating outside of Wildcat Willy's. Tonight the gym was filled with incoming freshmen lifting weights, many not really knowing how, and I saw #13's face maybe 5 or 6 times. After a few sets I started to lose energy, to "hit a wall," and eventually I quit mid-row, swore to myself, and weaved my way out through the crowd, making sure to watch for falling dumbbells. These past couple weeks have been crazy. Classes begin on Monday, and I teach on Tuesday. I'm not entirely sure my mind is where it needs to be.

There's a lot I've wanted to blog about. I plan to get to some of the topics:
Orientation week for teaching WR 121;
Josh and I will be brewing our own beer within weeks;
The Starfucker album release show at Doug Fir was amazing;
So was the OSU-USC game, and we witnessed the #1 team lose in our stadium;
Spanish starts again Monday at noon. I have not prepared;
New clubman handlebars are ready to go on my motorcycle!;
My thesis readings are rolling along very, very slowly--will share;
Made many great friends lately, new TAs in the program;
Went on a one-day adventure to the Three Sisters and Sahalie Falls (photos);
The Rays won the AL East. The RAYS;
Tim Lincecum should win the NL Cy Young;
"Frozen River" is a fantastic film;
Election worries;
The Great Depression v. 2.0;

There's more, I know, but I can hardly remember what I need to remember to blog about. So much to do, such short lives we live...

Tina Fey glasses

So much to say about Palin, and about this SNL skit. But not now.

Greg Oden karaoke

There's so much to appreciate with this video: the singing without reservation, the push for youth mentors by Oden and the Blazers, and, sure, the T-shirt.

Tonight's speech

Initial reaction post:

Wow, I thought, this is a really good speech.

Then, I noticed, he turned to scripture at the end.

And then we heard the usual blessing.

And then the country music came on.

!

More later.

First addition: Pastor closes ceremonies with a prayer, and finally: "End this prayer as you would in your personal religion."

And Pelosi closes with the gavel, but keeps rambling, and then tells god to bless everyone again.

Good speech by Obama.

These conventions are overwhelming.

17 wasted days

The Beijing Olympics are over (you wouldn't know it, thanks to NBC's tape delays), and if any athletes took the opportunity to speak out about China's continued civil rights violations, we didn't hear about it. Lots of silent, smiling athletes accepting their medals and "minding their own business," "trying to avoid politics and focus on their sports." Spineless. Foolish. Because they could have used their platform to encourage change and, as many are self-absorbed (their daily routines requiring them to be this way to some extent), they could have had headlines and respect like what was given to Tommie Smith, John Carlos, and Peter Norman in 1968. These athletes took a lot of criticism at the time, but in the years since they've become civil rights heros. And a move like this in Beijing would have been relatively low-risk. China's brutality is well-documented. It didn't need to happen on the medal stand, even. There were microphones thrust into the faces of hundreds of athletes.

So, thanks, Michael Phelps. Bolt. Lebron and Kobe. Lisa Leslie. Bryan Clay. LeShawn Merritt. Kerri Walsh. Walter Dix. Vincent Hancock. Venus and Serena. You did what you came to do. We're all so proud of you.

65 pounds of cocaine (I love Greek food)

This is very interesting. I-5 is certainly a major drug pipeline up and down the West Coast, but how many cars get pulled over for following too closely? I wonder what the full story is. I lived a few buildings away from the Douglas County jail in Roseburg; Jackson Street is one of the nicest in the county. Across from the jail is one of my favorite restaurants, Alexander's Greek Cuisine.

Anyway, don't tailgate if you have 65 pounds of cocaine hidden in your car.

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - Two Seattle men are facing drug charges after a traffic stop on Interstate 5 in Southern Oregon turned up about 65 pounds of cocaine worth an estimated $600,000.

An Oregon State Police trooper pulled over 25-year-old Cristian Escalante-Castaneda and 28-year-old Alfonso Garcia-Castaneda near Sutherlin after spotting a car following other traffic too closely on Wednesday.

The trooper became suspicious and called for backup with a drug-sniffing dog that found the cocaine hidden inside compartments in the car.

The two men were charged with unlawful possession and distribution of a controlled substance, and were being held at the Douglas County jail.

Two films and a bolt of lightning

One of my favorite ways of escaping the heat is to hide in movie theaters. Hide from the heat, that is. Friday night I went to the Darkside to see The Sensation of Sight, and yesterday I saw Woody Allen's new film, Vicky Cristina Barcelona.

Both were excellent. Critics affectionally wrote that The Sensation of Sight is "typical indie filmmaking," and I suppose I won't argue with that. It was shot in, I believe, 18 days in New Hampshire with an estimated budget of a few thousand dollars. David Straithairn (who played Edward Murrow in Good Night, and Good Luck) plays a troubled, retired high school English teacher. Straithairn's character, Finn, has left his family and moves temporarily into a bed and breakfast. During the day he passes his time attempting half-heartedly to sell an old collection of encyclopedias out of a Radio Flyer wagon. We're generally left in the dark about what, exactly, is troubling Finn, until late in the film as writer/director Aaron Wiederspahn slowly reveals the connections between his characters, using even the very last scene in the film to bring the story to an uncomfortable (sorry to be vague) but complete conclusion.

I love Woody Allen, and I'm not ashamed to say it. Vicky Cristina Barcelona is typical Woody (minus NY) with that funny-yet-embarrassingly-accurate-and-pointed dialogue that reveals how well Woody knows his audience and how well he knows what it's like to be at least slightly neurotic. He's making fun of himself and anyone remotely like him, which is most of his audience, and he does it in a way that leaves us feeling slightly challenged but okay with ourselves. Javier Bardem, Scarlett Johansson, Rebecca Hall, and Penélope Cruz make up Woody's love circle in Spain, and the film is narrated really well by Christopher Evan Welch.

Later Saturday night thunder started rumbling and finally a warm rain came pouring down around 12:30 or 1 a.m. At least, that's when I noticed it as I left the Crowbar with a couple of friends. The lightning was unlike any I've seen in Oregon since moving here three years ago, and two of us had to walk about a dozen blocks across town in the rain. We started by jogging a block or two but gave up, and really, it was one of the few times I've missed the Midwest and all its summer weather. The lightning was close, dangerously close by the time I got to my apartment. I was out back watching the sky when a bolt cracked four blocks away, shaking my apartment and setting off car alarms. (Earlier in the night we watched Usain Bolt break the world record in the 100 meters to win gold.) I slept well for the first time in weeks.

"Burn After Reading" trailer

Release date: Sept. 12

High temperatures

The National Weather Service recorded 102 degrees at 7 p.m. in Corvallis, and my apartment thermostat is at its limit right now, 95 degrees. It's nearly midnight. I'm afraid to walk upstairs.

And this, for the entire region, stretching from Eugene to, ahem, Castle Rock:

...EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING NOW IN EFFECT UNTIL 11 PM PDT SATURDAY...THE EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING IS NOW IN EFFECT UNTIL 11 PM PDT SATURDAY.

STRONG HIGH PRESSURE COMBINED WITH SOUTHERLY FLOW ALOFT WILL BRING WHAT IS LIKELY THE HOTTEST WEATHER OF THE YEAR SO FAR TO THE INLAND PORTIONS OF SOUTHWEST WASHINGTON AND NORTHWEST OREGON TONIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY.

IN THE INTERIOR LOWLANDS... TEMPERATURES WILL LIKELY EXCEED 100 DEGREES ON FRIDAY. THE EXCEPTION WILL BE ALONG THE INTERSTATE 5 CORRIDOR NORTH OF LONGVIEW WASHINGTON THAT WILL LIKELY BE IN THE 90S BOTH DAYS. MOST LOCATIONS IN THE COAST RANGE AND CASCADE FOOTHILLS ARE EXPECTED TO REACH THE 90S BOTH DAYS AS WELL.

IN ADDITION TO THE HOT AFTERNOONS... LITTLE RELIEF IS EXPECTED TONIGHT AND FRIDAY NIGHT. THIS WILL ESPECIALLY BE THE CASE IN DOWNTOWN URBAN AREAS... WHERE TEMPERATURES WILL NOT LIKELY FALL MUCH BELOW 70 DEGREES OVERNIGHT. OUTLYING RURAL AREAS WILL BE A BIT COOLER OVERNIGHT...

Maybe this doesn't sound so miserable if you've lived in, say, Arizona, or if you've survived the summer heat in Kentucky or Mississippi, but this may be the warmest night I've spent in Oregon. My friend Eric's jazz trio played at Bombs Away tonight, and the bar/restaurant couldn't keep the beer cold. We had about 10 people in our group by the end of the night. Now, I know that perhaps the waitress could have tallied our bills separately, but she did a good job, and it was very busy. I get a little bit upset when a group of people fails to leave a sufficient tip for good service. Half the group pays more than their fair share, and we barely round up enough for the bill. No idea if anyone is to blame directly, but it's bullshit. The server shouldn't be slighted like that.

Like I said, it's hot tonight.

It smells like Tuesday

I'm in a rotten mood. I won't list all the reasons.

But I got my motorcycle back today with a new chain and sprockets, and the front brake was rebuilt. New tube in the front tire.

There's something eerie and hollow about most Olympic athletes. You know what I mean. I love sports and I'm competitive, but I feel sorry for these kids in gymnastics.

Tomorrow (Wed.) is my last day of Spanish for the summer. These 12 credits flew by. My grades are good (my transcript will just read "S" anyway), but it's tough to retain everything in 9 weeks. I'll have to review periodically over this next month. Actually, that's not going to be a top priority. My thesis and my teaching license need to be addressed first, and a Fulbright application should follow.

Again I'm only sleeping soundly in the afternoon on my couch.

I need to get away for a few days. Maybe I'll make a motorcycle trip to the coast.

The Polyphonic Spree: "Mental Cabaret"

I hate goodbyes

This week I said goodbye to two people I'll always remember as opening me to new ways of seeing during my time at OSU. Thank you, Michael, and thank you, Kristen.

The Good Word/my ear has a price?

Today I parked my car outside of Dixon and walked to class. I usually park in the lot beside the baseball stadium, but it was full this morning. Anyway, as I returned to my car at about 11:30 after class, just outside of Dixon, a group of 5-6 high school kids came up to me. One had a notebook in her hand, another a small book in his.

"Hi, how are you? Could we have a moment of your time? We'd like to read something for you real quickly."
I assume it's about an environmental issue or it's a religious pitch. One or the other. "Sure," I say, "I don't normally take the bait, but you guys seem harmless." They sort of remind me of some of my former high school students. I'm feeling amiable.
"You know cool people when you see them, right?" They laugh. They start talking fast, several at once. "We'd like to read you a passage from the Bible. We're just spreading a good word. We'd like to buy you lunch. Thanks for talking to us! Here, just let me find the page..."
I laugh, "okay, make it good--you're working on an atheist, gonna take some magic."
They seem so happy. One guy reads me a passage from the New Testament, one short sentence about the light of the lord that I can't exactly remember. I'm distracted by all the faces staring at me and a Civic speeding by behind them. Suddenly a girl next to the reader holds out five dollars and puts it in my hand.
"We'd like to buy you lunch for listening today. Thank you so much for hearing the word of the lord. God bless."
I'm a little baffled, still in a good mood but not ready to respond to all of this. "Oh, really, I don't want your money, it's okay, thanks." I try to give it back to her. "You guys can put this to better use..."
"No, please, keep it. Thanks so much. Have a great day! God bless." They walk away.

I put the five ones in my cup holder and they're still there. I've been trying to think about how I should have responded. Should I have put the money down in front of them and politely explained that buying listeners is not, in my opinion, an ethical way to practice one's religion? What would I have said about this situation to my students when I taught high school English? What was my role in this as one participant in a rhetorical situation, and how could I have slowed everything down to make them think about their actions without being offensive? Maybe I'm over-analyzing this and I should use the cash for a couple PBRs, or pass it on to a transient outside Safeway.

It's almost August. August!

I was reminded recently that I am a horrible blogger. I do not object.

Lately I have been very busy with Spanish/battling dragons, but this is a relaxing Friday night and I'm about to go outside again. I recently added lights to the backyard and it's well-equipped for grilling, so I may take some salmon out of the freezer tonight. Our small yard is home to a pretty comfy-though-dangerous hammock, a gas grill that burned some hair off my left arm last week, a plastic table with an umbrella, a sprinkler with timer set for 6 a.m., lawnmower, weed-eater, satellite dish, several styles of lawn chairs, and my bicycle. It's a steel-frame Schwinn that is too heavy to ride up a mountain and too slow to really make good time with around town. But, tonight I took it out for the first time in quite a while, and I've just attached my new headlight and taillight. I'd like to use it more regularly. I've managed to spend a few hours at the gym each week in July.

I miss playing softball, and I haven't put much time toward my thesis this summer. Spanish is going fine; I'm not retaining a lot at this point, but I'm doing well in the class. We're about to finish 112, and 113 starts on Wednesday for 3 weeks. After that I hope to work on my thesis every day until I begin preparing to teach WR 121 in mid-September.

A note about "The Dark Knight": very good, but it falls short of excellent, in my opinion. The cheesy dialogue may hold true to the genre (I'm not an expert), but some of Batman's lines could have been much stronger. Heath Ledger is fantastic, even better than I expected as the Joker. The film is about 30 minutes too long, and my sense of it is that the directors and editors were a little too caught up in the magnificence of their product. Cutting maybe 20 minutes of the 2.5-hour film could have made it stronger. Ledger makes such a wicked Joker that I wanted to see the film bumped to an R rating so that the truly sinister nature of this character could play out on screen. Nevertheless, I really enjoyed the movie and it met my expectations. Ledger deserves a big nomination...

Tomorrow I am helping a friend shoot a short film for a class project. I'm hoping I don't look nervous on screen. Drama was never my thing, but I think I can ignore the camera and take on this character in the way my friend envisions. It'll be a good time. Maybe I'll post the final product here. Maybe not!

Vice President selections

A quick prediction:

McCain: Bill Frist.

Obama: Wesley Clark.

These are the people I think they'll select, and not necessarily the people I'd like to see selected.

Your thoughts, predictions?

Where dirty cops go when they're outed

Ex Corvallis officer helps beat DUII raps
By Bennett Hall
Corvallis Gazette-Times

After a distinguished career of busting drunk drivers for the Corvallis Police Department, Dave Cox has a new job: helping motorists accused of driving under the influence beat the rap in court.

In six years as a Corvallis patrol officer, Cox made more than 1,000 impaired-driving arrests, far more than anyone else on the force, and won a statewide award for his prolific enforcement efforts. But he turned in his badge Nov. 1 after an internal investigation found he had wrongfully arrested a sober man for DUII.

Now Cox has resurfaced in Boise, Idaho, as a private investigator and the proprietor of Fact Finder Investigations Inc., an agency that specializes in the defense of DUII cases.

Reached by telephone last week, Cox declined to comment on his new career path. But the Fact Finders Web site touts his extensive law enforcement training in catching drunk and drug-impaired motorists and offers to put that expertise to work for individuals facing charges of driving under the influence.

Cox charges $255 for a DUII defense case review or $85 an hour for trial prep. He also offers to testify as an expert witness or re-create the events on the day of the arrest, right down to performing field sobriety tests and breath exams on the defendant — both drunk and sober (price quotes available on request).

In addition, Cox has developed a seminar for lawyers on DUII defense. Highlights include:

• Driving cues and signs of intoxication that police are looking for.

• Tricks and tactics police use in DUII cases.

• How to attack the results of a breath test; and

• How to get an officer to tell the jury your client’s side of the story.

According to the Web site, the class is approved for continuing legal education credit in several states. The going rate: $299 a person.

Cox apparently has even written a book on the subject.

Titled “How to Fight a DUI Arrest,” the book is promoted as a must-read for drunk-driving defendants.

“Dave Cox wrote How to Fight a DUI Arrest to assist those who have been wrongfully arrested for DUI,” the online sales pitch says. “More innocent people are arrested for DUI than for any other crime. In fact, as many as 300,000 innocent people are arrested for DUI every year. And millions of other people are stopped by the police and are worried that they, too, may get arrested even when they are not intoxicated.”

The volume is available in electronic form at a cost of $29.99 — or, at least, it was available. The Gazette-Times attempted to order a copy this week but was unsuccessful, and references to the book were subsequently removed from the Web site.

Local law enforcement officials said they were unaware of Cox’s new business venture but not necessarily surprised.

“It’s not uncommon for folks who once worked in law enforcement, once that’s not an option for them, to go into some other sort of investigative work,” said Benton County District Attorney John Haroldson. “There’s nothing improper about that.”

Though Cox now lives in Idaho, he could find himself back in Oregon before too long. He is a co-defendant in two civil lawsuits against the city alleging false arrest for DUII.

And then he moved to Argentina

It's Thursday but it seems like a Friday and I'm exhausted. My summer Spanish class(es) is consuming me and it has me feeling a bit masochistic; I like slaving away at something quantifiable, practical, unfamiliar. I don't have time to do much outside of Spanish and I don't care, can't care, because feeling guilty about it only distracts from the work in front of me. I'm forced to put everything and everyone else out of my mind. Sometimes I think I'm only really okay when I have so much to do that I just barely get by.

Oh, I should explain: I'm taking three 4-credit first-year Spanish courses in nine weeks this summer: Spanish 111, 112, and 113. Each course is three weeks long and one day in class is equivalent to one week in class during a normal term. We're in class from 9 a.m. to 11:45 or so five days a week. We have one week worth of homework each day (about 3-4 hours of work) and on day 5 we had a unit test that covers materials usually taught over the course of 4-5 weeks. It's challenging, but those of us who didn't drop (exactly half the class did) are pretty determined, and the instructor is flexible and helpful.

However! Tonight I am going to see The Builders and The Butchers and The Long Winters at the Wonder Ballroom in Portland with a few friends. Should be a great show and I'm happy to be leaving town for a night. Right after I take a nap.

Feeling slighted

Kulongoski gets to stay overnight, and I got rolled out in a wheelchair one hour after the surgery to puke at home all night! Hmm, and apparently I was supposed to sign away my powers...

Governor to undergo surgery on gall bladder

SALEM, Ore. - Gov. Ted Kulongoski is scheduled to undergo surgery Saturday to have his gall bladder removed after it was discovered to be infected this week, his staff confirmed Friday.
The discovery came when Kulongoski went to see a doctor earlier this week after not feeling well, according to Rem Nivens, the governor's deputy press secretary. An ultrasound showed that the organ needed to be removed, Nivens said.
Nivens called it a "routine procedure."
The gall bladder, a small pear-shaped organ located near the liver, aids in the digestive process.
Before Kulongoski is put under anesthesia for the surgery, he and Secretary of State Bill Bradbury will sign a letter that will transfer gubernatorial powers to Bradbury. When the governor comes to, the letter will be revoked, Nivens said.
Nivens said the governor will stay in the hospital overnight and will have a light work schedule next week as he recovers.
The surgery will force him to miss a trip to Wyoming next week for a gathering of governors from western states.

ESPN cares?

I think the Disney/ABC/ESPN monopoly is an evil empire, but this is the type of piece that could get the attention of a lot of men who would benefit from a few lifestyle changes.

Here's hoping this voice echoes on and on

George Carlin died yesterday, and 71 years weren't nearly enough.

Rep. Kucinich calls for Bush impeachment

I love the brief summary paragraph at the end. Too bad Obama won't support Kucinich's move.
---
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democratic Rep. Dennis Kucinich defied his party leadership on Monday by calling for the impeachment of U.S. President George W. Bush for launching the Iraq war -- but his move was not expected to go anywhere.

The Ohio representative outlined his intention to propose more than two dozen charges against Bush on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives.

Kucinich, a former presidential candidate, accused Bush executing a "calculated and wide-ranging strategy" to deceive citizens and Congress into believing that Iraq posed an imminent threat to the United States.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has repeatedly said she opposes trying to remove the Republican president who leaves office next January because such an attempt would be divisive and most likely unsuccessful.

Kucinich, an outspoken Iraq war critic who has consistently voted against funding the war and led anti-war efforts in Congress, offered a resolution to impeach Vice president Dick Cheney in April 2007. That also failed to move forward.

Many Democrats and civil liberties groups have accused the Bush administration of providing misleading information before the 2003 Iraq invasion as well as violating the rights of U.S. citizens with its warrantless surveillance program. The White House denies the charges.

The Magnetic Fields

You're probably familiar with them, but if not, I recommend that you check them out.

This isn't a music video created by the band. I kind of like it, though. Song title: "I don't want to get over you."

Brighter thoughts

My last few blogs have been ridiculously whiny. Here's a quick update about a few things I'm looking forward to.

On Saturday I am making a quick trip to Winston where I taught for two years, delivering graduation gifts to a couple of students who've invited me to graduation. I'd like to make it to the ceremony, but I have a conflicting graduation party to attend in Corvallis, and a ton of work to do before my Monday deadline. A former student's parents own a fantastic vineyard in the Umpqua Valley, and I've become friends with the family; the wife, Hilda, was president of the school board while I worked in the district, and we always enjoy talking about education, politics, wine (despite my limited knowledge), etc. Anyway, their wine is fantastic, some of the best on the West Coast, and I'm picking up bottles of their newly-released Albarino for myself, Josh, and a professor who was blown away by last year's Albarino at a fall department gathering. Check out the site: Abacela.com

I have a Monday deadline for my papers on Hawthorne and Chaucer because I'm flying to Michigan on Tuesday morning for 10 days. When I return, it's back into a potentially grueling academic grind: 9 weeks of Spanish from 9 a.m. to noon 5 days a week, my thesis work, and 3 credits of ENG 506, Special Projects, assisting the composition director in developing/publishing resource guides for instructors of WR 121 and WR 214.

But enough about that! In the nearer future, it's wine and Lake Superior sunshine.

Plagiarism spoof: a joke on the tired volunteer?

Sometimes I wonder what the hell I'm doing.

I'm an online tutor for a college nearby, a volunteer position outside of OSU to gain experience in the composition cyber world. Tonight I read a WR 121 essay comparing Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. Apparently MLK was a plagiarist through graduate school. I learned this about three paragraphs after the section in the essay that prompted me to Google one of the student's sentences, which appeared immediately as the first search result. Wikipedia, of course. And the student's citation for the information about MLK's plagiarism: Famous Plagiarists.

Why don't I just stand behind a sales counter wearing a $12 tie and talk you into this great new cell phone with a full keyboard, 358 gig hard drive, and free matching Jew's harp (offer good thru June)?

Olbermann on Clinton

I've been down recently, and when this happens, I tend to let others speak for me, or I allow my thoughts to sit silently. I don't have Olbermann's fire at the moment, but it's something that I admire.

I realize he's just "another talking head" to many people, and I've been feeling like I shouldn't talk about politics among some friends lately -- even directly criticized for my support of Barack Obama by intelligent people, a couple of friends I respect.

It'll pass. For now, I just want to say that I agree with Keith Olbermann, and if you're still interested in the Obama/Clinton struggle for the Democratic nomination, check this out.

Dear Hillary,

Congrats on winning West Virginia, another notch in your belt that your supporters will fail to notice is tainted with racist overtones--a state Bush won handily in 2004, one that will very likely go to McCain in November no matter who he is running against.

Sincerely,

Unmoved

P.S. I still like you and Bill. But, in the words of Jon Stewart, don't fuck this up.

Strategies for proofreading

At the WIC lunch tomorrow, we're discussing revision strategies and something we're calling the "Change 5 Things" approach. Vicki asked that I draw from my copy editing and teaching experiences to come up with a document to present specifically on proofreading. I typed out a few ideas, certain I'd find more good sources to add to my own thoughts. But, as I went through my old college newspaper style guide, the Associated Press Style Guide, Andrea Lunsford's Everyday Writer, and a few online sources, I didn't find anything to add.

So, in any case, below is my list. If you have any ideas that could be incorporated, let me know.


Strategies for Proofreading:

• It’s true that the best proofreaders are often those with the best skills in grammar and mechanics, but all students can identify some of the mistakes in their documents. Using peer review is always recommended: we all benefit from having more eyes on our writing. Find a friend with a good eye for proofreading, and after you’ve been through these steps carefully, ask that friend to identify any errors she or he may see.

• Take a break. Don’t do just one proofread immediately after you’ve finished the paper and assume that the paper is ready to be turned in. Get away from the paper, relax for a bit, and then come at it with a fresh set of eyes.

• Use the MS Word spelling and grammar check function as a guide. Don’t assume that you must make a change because you see a red or green line, but don’t assume that there is nothing wrong, either. Take a careful look at the underlined error and determine whether or not you need to make a change.

• Print your paper, rather than proofreading on the screen. This allows you to see your errors easily, and your eyes will appreciate looking at a printed copy after you’ve strained your vision by staring at an illuminated computer screen for hours. And, use a pen that stands out for you.

• Make proofreading an entirely separate activity from other elements of the revision process, like reorganizing paragraphs or double-checking your references.

• Know your weaknesses. If you regularly lose points for comma splices in your papers, make an effort to learn what a comma splice is, and read with an eye specifically for that mistake. In fact, it can be very helpful to read a paper looking for one error at a time. (For example, a reading for comma splices, a reading for tense shifts, a reading for missing apostrophes, etc.)

• Read your paper aloud, slowly. This, of course, implies that you should give yourself time to proofread effectively. Finishing a paper at the last second is not only stressful, but it leads to errors on the final draft.

Real age?

My "RealAge" is 23.8, based on health, lifestyle, education, etc.

I'm not sure how much research went into this, but check out RealAge.com and beware of attempts to lure you into their spam machine. I haven't received any junk mail from this site, though. They'll send your results within two hours. Registration isn't explained, so just type in your e-mail address and a password.

Anyway, I recommend it if you're generally healthy and happen to be approaching 28...

Headaches and reliefs: the physical edition

I began playing in a softball league in Roseburg last summer with some friends from Winston, and we started the new season on Saturday, playing three games in a kickoff tournament. I've always loved playing baseball, but I don't think I've ever enjoyed it as much as I do with this group--a great mix of characters all linked somehow to the school where I taught last year, Douglas High. Our team name--the Grays--comes from an old Negro League team that was based in Homestead, Pennsylvania. Below are a couple of photos from last summer.

I'm sure I'll write more about the Grays this summer. I'll be in Corvallis taking classes almost continually, but I am going to try to take a trip to Roseburg a few times each month to play with the team and see my friends down there (68 miles south of Eugene). We played well on Saturday, winning 2 of 3 games, and we hit well for the first weekend of the season. Our defense was great, and Timmy and I turned a sexy double play during the second game; Timmy plays shortstop and I play second base. It might be the best middle infield in southern Douglas County class C softball this year. But I don't mean to brag. (Yes I do.)

Unfortunately, despite making it through the entire season last year without any injuries, I took a pretty good hit to the head near the end of our first game. Garret waived me home as I rounded third base. I saw the other team's shortstop with the ball but knew I could beat the throw to the catcher. Well, this was a very good throw--I hear the guy had a great arm and put everything into it. I began my slide under the catcher's arms and felt the ball hit me behind the top of my left ear. I don't really remember what happened in the seconds after that because everything went black, and it felt like the hit was spinning me around. When I opened my eyes I couldn't see out of the right one at all, and, from my back, could only see a little light out of my left eye. I rolled onto my butt and watched the ground spin, thinking only "come on, come on, come on," as I waited for my vision to return. I held my breath and tried not to puke on all the shoes circled around me. I looked up and could make out the umpire with one eye as he asked me if I knew where I was, and I said "yeah, hope I was safe." Nobody laughed! ...or, I didn't hear them. Anyway, a couple of people helped me up (Tyler and the ump?), and walked me into the dugout where I sat spinning and watching the vision return to my right eye; strange that I lost vision in my right eye for so long from a hit to the left side of the head...but, now that I think of it, I think that's consistent with what I learned about the brain in a college psychology class. That was a long time ago. Tyler brought me ice and I sat still, happy that I didn't eat breakfast that morning.

I've heard people say they don't remember what happened when they were knocked out. I lost maybe five seconds of it, but I remember most of this experience, so I assume I was nearly knocked unconscious and probably suffered what could be termed a "mild concussion." My jaw and head hurt all day yesterday, and I've still got a headache today to accompany the large knot on my head. But, fortunately it's nothing serious or worth worrying about. I just thought I'd share this because it's still vivid, an experience most of us aren't familiar with, and an interesting example of how sensitive our brains are.


Photo 1: Me, Tyler, Timmy, Kevin M.
Photo 2: Me, Garret
Photo 3: Kevin G., Dee, Mike B., Chris, Mikey, Tyler, Me, Jon

Headaches and reliefs: the mechanical edition

You know that motorcycle that left me stranded on HWY 99 a few weeks ago? Well, it's gone. A mechanic in Philomath went through the motor and quickly determined that there were so many problems with the bike that he couldn't fix it until winter, and even then it wouldn't run like it should. Basically, the guy I bought it from had no idea what he was doing with the bike and put a worthless old engine in it. But, he had it working well enough to get it sold.

The mechanic suggested that I should try to return the bike. I had e-mails in which the owner told me it runs well on the interstate and that "it really snorts." Forget snorting, it could hardly breathe--no compression in the carbs, the valves were bad, a brake needed to be rebuilt, and on and on. I sped home from the mechanic's shop and called the old guy I bought it from and insisted that I would file in claims court if he was unwilling to exchange the bike for the cash I gave him for it. It was a pretty nasty discussion, but he finally conceded that giving me the money back would be cheaper and less of a hassle than dealing with me in court. (I would have included an additional $500, at least, for transportation charges, registration, the mechanic, parts, etc.) I think my education in rhetoric proved to be quite practical. And then I went right to the bar.

Fortunately, I found another motorcycle on Craig's List, and we were going to drive right by the guy's house on the way back to Washington with the nonfunctioning bike. It's slightly smaller than the Honda cb750, but it fits me nicely and runs well. The young guy I bought it from rebuilt it a few years ago after it was smashed by the previous owner, and he's done a great job with it mechanically and aesthetically: a custom paint job with Audi paint, and lots of chrome. I assured him I'd be right back for the bike after I exchanged the first bike with the original owner in Washington.

The scene of the exchange was tense. Josh and Robert took the trip with me in a big truck from Enterprise. I backed the truck into the guy's garage and we unloaded the bike with the help of my friends and a big guy who was surely there to make certain I/we didn't try anything shady. I handed Henry (the owner) the title, and he handed me an envelope with cash that I counted quickly. As I stepped to leave, Henry couldn't stop himself from giving me advice: "I suggest you buy a bike from a dealer. There's nothing wrong with this bike. You know, a dealer won't let you test drive a bike out on the highway, either--most people won't. You pull this again and you'll get your ass kicked."

I stared at him for a few long seconds. I wanted to tell him how lucky he was that I didn't take him to court for additional charges. I wanted to tell him what a terrible mechanic he is, and how he threw this bike together haphazardly to make a quick buck and he should be ashamed of himself. I wanted to tell him that he was wrong, that most people, including dealers, will let you get a bike on the road before you buy it. I wanted to tell him that I drove a bike just an hour ago, one well maintained by a good person, and that I was going to turn this money right over to him for a legitimate piece of engineering. I wanted to tell him how much sleep he took from me, and how I struggle to trust people.

Instead, only: "Take care, Henry." And we drove off to pick up the bike below, a 1978 Honda cb550.

I continue to neglect this blog

A very brief note about the works I'm studying this term:
Hawthorne > Chaucer

Minor breakdown(s)

So, today I was stranded on Highway 99 and I missed that 1-credit practicum I mentioned in the last posting. Bad day. Fortunately, the instructor was very nice about it and she'll let me make up the points by doing a short presentation later in the term.

I bought a 1979 Honda cb750 from a retired guy in Washington over spring break, and he didn't want me to take it on the highway because I would have had to drive it on a muddy road to get there. I drove it briefly in his yard and it ran well, and since he has about ten bikes in his garage that have been or will be restored by him, I trusted the ol' guy. My bad. I'm taking it to a mechanic in Philomath next week. May be an ignition problem. May be a carb problem. May be an alternator problem.



Big thanks to Josh for helping me out continually with this bike, and for getting me off the side of the road today. It's a fun, powerful old bike when it runs properly--and it will be running perfectly before summer is here, or I'm giving up on all motorized vehicles and sticking to my feet and bicycle. Oh, and next summer, if I still have the thing, it'll be black with cafe-style handlebars and a different exhaust.

Third term: one step closer to the bling

I’m beginning my third term at OSU today, and although I still prefer the semester schedule I had as an undergrad at Northern Michigan University, I’m happy to be moving on to new classes right now. My courses last term were challenging in very different ways — I learned a lot, but as I’ve said before, I was exhausted at the end of the term. Spring break has been pretty refreshing.

Maybe I’ll post a longer entry about my coursework, but after 2 hours of Sunday night basketball, I’m tired, so I’ll make this short. Oh, one quick recommendation for my friends looking into graduate programs right now: be sure to talk to the students in the program before you commit; don’t simply talk with the graduate program director, the graduate school, department head, and/or professors. They’re important to talk with, of course, but it’s the students who really know the program. And once you’re at the school, be advised on coursework by both your main advisor and multiple second-year students in your program. Just get some quick feedback from several people. (I have a W on my transcript because I failed to do this — which isn’t a big deal, in my opinion.)

Anyway. Two main courses this term: ENG 480/580, The Making of Nathaniel Hawthorne, and ENG 526, Studies in the Age of Chaucer. I’m especially excited about the Hawthorne class because the professor is one of the best in the department, a fantastic teacher I was fortunate to meet early last fall; he participated in a couple of WIC program seminars last term, and I know that pedagogy and an engaging classroom are very important to him. While I’m a little cool toward Chaucer, I really like the professor for that class, too, and I have several good friends in both courses. I’m sure that both will be challenging enough, but I doubt they’ll cause too many sleepless nights this spring.

(Ack, this feels like a boring post. Maybe I won't write a longer one about my coursework!)

The final class is a one-credit practicum that prepares us to teach the business writing course next year, should we wish to do that. I’m not sure if I’ll have the time to teach it, or if the department would want me to, but I suppose the one-credit course can’t hurt. How that course’s curriculum is designed and taught is interesting to me, anyway — and I guess I’ll be studying curricula and helping to design classes for a long time. Somewhere. Because there’s big money in it. And that’s what I’m after. Bling bling. (ideophone)

Traffic stop #32

This requires a lot of explanation, I know. How does a normally responsible, well-educated (if student loans are any indication) person get stopped by the police 32 times in 11 years? And why would he count the stops?

I grew up in a small town, Crystal Falls, where the local police had little to do, and they frequently stopped high school students to check for alcohol and such. I know that sounds all too typical, but really, I was pulled over once when I was going 32 in a 35. It was late, and I was driving my beat-up ’79 Impala through town. The city officer on duty nearly rolled his SUV as he turned around to pull me over, and as he walked up and I took my hood off of my head, he realized he knew me. In fact, his two sons attended the school district’s daycare I worked at, and I helped coach them in t-ball. The officer was completely apologetic and made some excuse about how the radar gun sometimes picks up “the fan in the car” and it clocked me at 52 m.p.h.

That’s just one example. I was pulled over seven times in my first six months of driving, and I’ve always kept the running total in the back of my head. Now it’s a running joke with my friends. I think I’ve been ticketed for speeding three times, and I admit that I drive over the speed limit quite a bit — never too fast for conditions, though. I think I’m a good driver, a sensible person.

Tonight, my friend Pete and I went to the Darkside Cinema to see “The Band’s Visit,” a great film about an Egyptian Police band that gets stranded in Israel for a night before a scheduled performance there. It’s a sad film with fantastic lonely characters, and I recommend it. When we left, I drove about two blocks when an officer pulled me over, and Pete snickered about how I can get pulled over even when I’m driving perfectly. Apparently, a headlight went out tonight; it was fine last night. So the officer was brief and nice about it, and she let me leave without a ticket or much fuss at all.

Sometimes I have to talk quickly — I think I’ve maneuvered my way out of several tickets. For example, last Saturday I was stopped by a Benton County sheriff deputy on the motorcycle I had just purchased (more on that some other time). I had no insurance, the bike wasn’t registered yet, and it had an expired Washington license plate on it. I knew I had messed up this time and was bracing myself for a big fine and bike impoundment. I started talking right away about how I just got the bike off the truck and was having carb problems, how I was just a mile from home and heading back that way, how I had just received my temporary motorcycle license (yes, this one’s paper and they mail me a new one in a week). All true, but nevertheless, I wasn’t on the road legally. A minute later, the officer — a guy my age — was talking to me about his old bikes and what I might want to look at with my bike. He let me go and wished me luck. I really thought I was in trouble. I guess this particular officer was in a good mood.

Well, that’s enough about this. It’s all humorous to me and pretty ridiculous because (knock on wood) I’ve avoided some major accidents by being a defensive driver, and my insurance company likes me. Tomorrow I will fix my headlight, but if you see blue and red lights flashing behind a little black car in Corvallis, or on I-5, wave and don’t worry — I’m probably just discussing something minor with a local law enforcement agent, perhaps a taillight, or the OSU parking permit that’s potentially impeding my vision as it hangs from my rearview mirror.

(Note for further discussion: unbelievably high concentrations of police in relatively small academic communities like Corvallis and Marquette. Right? Or is it just me? I may be incapable of objectivity!)

Obama in Oregon, vol. 1

Obama got the jump on Hillary in Oregon by visiting the state Friday and Saturday, and I decided to drive to Eugene and get in line. Unfortunately, we didn't get to hear his full address--just a 10-minute talk with about 5,000 other people behind McArthur Court at the University of Oregon. One friend said she waited 6 hours and the doors to McArthur Court closed when they were 10 feet away. I was in line for about 2 hours, and didn't even get around the block to see the front of the building.

He gave a Friday morning speech in Portland, and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson appeared with him and endorsed Obama publicly for the first time--a nice endorsement, considering most Latino voters are supporting Hillary. From Portland, he traveled to speak in Salem, and then made an unannounced stop in Corvallis, ordering pizzas at American Dream Pizza, right across from the downtown apartment building where a couple of my friends live. I guess a couple of friends scrambled over, but only saw the bus pulling away. (Aside: American Dream is my favorite pizza place in Corvallis, but when you order a slice late at night in the Crow Bar behind the dining area, they just kind of lump some toppings on cheese pizza that has been warming for awhile. But, hey, it's only $2.50.) Friday night was the Eugene rally, and I heard that Obama made a stop in Medford on Saturday, too.

Below is a photo I snapped as Barack was shaking hands with people along the barrier. He took his time and went all around the front row of the crowd, and I was nearly within handshake reach as I snuck forward right after this photo. Great crowd, very diverse. I think he will win in Oregon, but maybe not by much. (There's sure to be a lot of cable news hyperactivity between now and then that, unfortunately, may sway some voters for trivial reasons, but I'm fairly confident that Obama will take our state.) April 29 is the last day to register to vote in time for the Democratic Primary in Oregon.

Upcoming Democratic primaries are:

April 22: Pennsylvania
May 6: Indiana, North Carolina
May 13: Nebraska, West Virginia
May 20: Oregon, Kentucky
June 3: Montana, South Dakota

So, Obama is sure to be back in Oregon before May 20, and I will probably devote a bit more time to standing in line when the weather is warmer. Or, I'll follow his bus and take a photo for the blog, at least.

Like when you fall across the finish line in 8th place

At 4:30 today, I drove my final paper to my professor's house and dropped it off. Term over. Now I'm celebrating by watching the Houston Rockets (on a 22-game winning streak!) play the best team in the East, the Celtics. Considering the circumstances, there's absolutely nothing I'd rather be doing right now.

I don't know what's up with my immune system, but it has really failed me lately. I began this term sick with the flu, and I fell sick again on Saturday. Three days later I'm finally able to get into library and quickly thumb through a copy of Aristotle's Politics, only to realize it doesn't address what I expect, and it's not the impressive work I anticipated. But, it did factor into the conclusion of my paper. (Yeah, for better or worse, I made it fit.) Anyway, the truth is, I do know why I got sick again: I didn't sleep well this term, didn't eat well, couldn't exercise the way I usually do--my overall health was bad, and considering that my prof said I looked green (see last post), it's no wonder I ended up in bed for two days.

On the bright side, I passed my motorcycle certification test on Sunday, so as soon as I stop at the DMV, I have the official license to wear leather chaps. Kidding--nobody wants that. The certification course was a combined 19 hours this weekend, more than half of which was spent on a bike, and I'm sure it contributed to my sickness. No regrets, though; on Thursday I drive to a small town in Washington to (possibly) buy a 1980 Honda CB750, and old cafe-style racer. (Aside: the certification course instructor was one of the coolest people I've ever met, a nonfiction writer whose wife is a poetry professor at OSU.)

So, break begins. And although I have so much planned for the next two weeks that it won't be relaxing, it will be fun. I'm going to return to this game now, and then I might watch "No Country for Old Men," which I picked up as I was buying a new battery for my dead car Saturday night. Yes, I've staggered to the end, but the term is over. Hoo-rah, hoo-ray.

Beirut - Nantes (For a green day)

Today, one of my professors (I work with her) told me I don't look well--green--"like no one should really look in good health." Or something like that. But rather than try to explain or identify all the things that make me green, I came home and watched this video, which is so damn excellent that you can't help but feel a bit better after watching it. So, enjoy.

Parking Lot Press Release (Parenthetical Version)

My friends who have been around our apartment recently may recall the early-'70s Ford pickup truck that sits half in our lot and half in the grass of the neighbor's yard. Big news on this! After nearly backing into the truck two or three times, I mentioned the truck to an employee of our management company as she was cleaning the apartment next door last week (girls next door have moved out, so if anyone needs a nice two-bedroom, two-story apartment for less than $700 a month, give me a call). Well, this woman said the truck would be given a few days to be moved following a warning, then towed. Today, behold, an orange sticker is on the window, and I anticipate that the truck will be towed soon! If I witness this, I will drink a beer and toast to the tow truck driver as he hooks it up!

And surely you have heard me mention the infamous, scraggly black cat that was regularly sleeping on the warm hoods of our cars in November and December. Well, after I spoke with the lone animal control officer for the Corvallis Police Department (in light of this cat apparently using the bushes next to Josh's car as a litter box--complete with all the usual accompanying scents), the cat disappeared. Yes, she (and we know it's a she because she was seen mating in the parking lot 4 doors down one day) seems to have fled. No surprise, though, I did see her last week and slowly drove toward her with my car to see where she would run to for protection (I had hoped she would not run below our kitchen; she went to the neighbor's yard).

Just last month, the managers painted apartment numbers on the parking spots, so you're welcome to park in any spot that's open and unpainted, should you stop by.

And finally, I took notice of what a nice job the football player's girlfriend (the one with the shiny Civic) has done with their place by planting some flowers out front, and I'm inspired to do some gardening out back in the spring.

That's the latest news on our parking lot. And since only Josh will be reading this, I trust that the audience has been fully engaged.

Gates and The Signifying Monkey

For the sake of throwing something up here, below are my notes for my presentation tom...today--the presentation I have to give in less than 6 hours! Oh how I need this term to end.

Anyway, I really would like to read Gates's entire book. It reminded me of some great conversations I had with my friend Yonika as an undergraduate. I'm sure I've got a lot more to say on this, but not at 2:47 a.m.

***

Henry Louis Gates Jr. (b. 1950—currently Professor/Program Director at Harvard)
“The Signifying Monkey and the Language of Signifyin(g): Rhetorical Difference and the Orders of Meaning” Taken from The Signifying Monkey: A Theory of Afro-American Literary Criticism (New York, 1988)

This particular work by Gates is significant not only in enriching our understanding of Black English, but it “has important implications for the development of rhetorical theory because it suggests that Black English is a fertile field for studying the ideological and epistemological powers of rhetoric conceived as a general theory of language” (1544).

The features of the black dialect of English have long been studied and have been found to be grammatical and a dialect as much as Standard English is a dialect, “albeit a socially privileged one” (1544).

Bizzell and Herzberg point out that “language and culture are inseparable, and though it is common practice to forget the cultural forces at work in descriptions of Standard English—that is, white English—it is impossible to forget, when examining the development of Black English, the often agonized relationship between white people and black people in the United States” (1544).

B&H note three settings for speech interactions in black communities: 1. The church, where speaking includes both sermons and responses by congregants; 2. The street, where talk is an interaction between equals; 3. The home, where talk is dominated by the mother. (1545)

“A distinct feature between black rhetoric and what we might call white rhetoric is the typical relationship between speaker and audience. In most white speech interactions, as in traditional classical rhetoric, the speaker speaks and the audience listens; in black speech interactions, the audience responds almost constantly, with set responses, encouragement, suggestions, and nonverbal signals. … Black discourse is…highly ‘dialogic.’” (1546)

Given this information, it wasn’t a surprise when I found out that the film “Hustle and Flow” (seen here) won the Audience Award at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival.

B&H say “the street” is the scene for the most complex conversation-performance exchanges, with three main purposes: exchange information; enact social relationships of friendship, kinship, and business; and to establish the speaker’s social status (1546). I might say the “street” is any social setting where verbal play can create solidarity and competitiveness. (See: the basketball courts at Dixon. Good times.)

Forms of discourse are more closely related in black speech than in white; in other words, conversation and formal speeches are more similar in black speech, whereas they are more distinct in white speeches. (This makes sense, of course, considering the more dialogic nature of Black English in general.)

Important to note that tropes are artful substitutions of one term for another for rhetorical effect—as defined by Quintilian. For Gates, Signifyin(g) is the ultimate trope. Signifying is the “general term for several forms of persuasion, insult, boasting, or lying, all by innuendo or indirection…may be verbal, in prose, or verse, or nonverbal, using gesture. …sounding…[is] direct insult, boast, or lie” (1547—list)

“A trope is, literally, a turn. In traditional rhetoric, tropes turn words away from their ‘literal’ meaning to a metaphorical one” (1549).

Some verbal tropes:
Signifying
Playing the dozens (yo mama)
Any jargon (spit, chronic, 6-4, and on and on)
Meaning reversal (“my nigga” is a hotly debated one)
Hyperbole

Nonverbal:
pitch
emphasis
marking (spelling out blood with hands; peace signs; c-walk)

Often these insults can be playful—occasionally they may create tension.

“And finally, in a double bind that undercuts the self-image of black men, the official standards of the community may characterize the whole assemblage of street forms and tropes as adolescent—or at least rude” (1549). Many concerned leaders (black leaders) in black communities fight against street forms and tropes, trying to clean up the language and the images of what they think is a flawed youth culture.

Sociolinguists have done extensive work showing that Black English is not merely incorrect Standard English—they’ve explored the “background not only of African languages but also of tribal culture and social structures, myths, and music.” By studying community behaviors, Gates studies not only linguistics but rhetoric, and “his analysis is located at a critical juncture of culture, linguistic operation, social interaction, and political marginality. Gates is forced to be inclusive, to see rhetoric as the connective force and to see tropes as cognitive and epistemic forms of language. Here, rhetoric means daily speech as a form of action” (1549).

“Gates notes that signifying, the act of linguistic misdirection, ironically redirects the white word for the passive act of representation. Black rhetoric seems to say (as modern literary and rhetorical theory says) that representing meaning is not passive, that it is the greatest trickery of all” (1550).

From The Signifying Monkey:

“’Signification,” in standard English, denotes the meaning that a term conveys, or is intended to convey. It is a fundamental term in the standard English semantic order. …By supplanting the received term’s associated concept, the black vernacular tradition created a homonymic pun of the profoundest sort, thereby making its sense of difference from the rest of the English community of speakers.

“To revise the received sign … is to critique the nature of (white) meaning itself, to challenge through a literal critique of the sign the meaning of meaning. What did/do black people signify in a society in which they were intentionally introduced as the subjugated, as the enslaved cipher? Nothing on the x axis of white signification, and everything on the y axis of blackness” (1553).

“It would be erroneous even to suggest that a concept can be erased from its relation to a signifier. … “All homonyms depend on the absent presence of received concepts associated with a signifier” (1554).

“Whereas signification depends for order and coherence on the exclusion of unconscious associations which any given word yields at any given time, Signification (black replacement of meaning) luxuriates in the inclusion of the free play of these associative rhetorical and semantic relations. Lacan calls these vertically suspended associations ‘a whole articulation of relevant contexts,’ by which he means all of the associations that a signifier carries from other contexts, which must be deleted, ignored, or censored ‘for this signifier to be lined up with a signified to produce a specific meaning.’ Everything that must be excluded for meaning to remain coherent and linear comes to bear in the process of Signifyin(g).”

“Signifyin(g), in Lacan’s sense, is the Other of discourse; but it also constitutes the black Other’s discourse as its rhetoric. Ironically, rather than a proclamation of emancipation from the white person’s standard English, the symbiotic relationship between the black and white, between the syntagmatic and paradigmatic axes, between black vernacular discours and standard English discourse, is underscored here, and signified, by the vertiginous relationship between the terms signification (standard) and Signification (black), each of which is dependent on the other. We can, then, think of American discourse as both the opposition between and the ironic identity of the movement, the very vertigo, that we encounter in a mental shift between the two terms.”

Gary Saul Morson on Bakhtin: “The audience of a double-voiced word is therefore meant to hear both a version of the original utterance as the embodiment of its speaker’s point of view (or ‘semantic position’) and the second speaker’s evaluation of that utterance for a different point of view. I find it helpful to picture a double-voiced word as a special sort of palimpsest in which the uppermost inscription is a commentary on the one beneath it, which the reader (or audience) can know only by reading through the commentary that obscures in the very process of evaluating.”

“The motivated troping effect of the disruption of the semantic orientation of signification by the black vernacular depends on the homonymic relation of the white term to the black. The sign, in other words, has been demonstrated to be mutable” (1556).

Talking points on research

I’d like to explain part of what led me to create this blog, which is the need for me to work through some potential angles for research and, with any luck, receive feedback and share ideas around these topics. As my friends know (and is anyone else even reading?!), I’m studying rhetoric and composition at Oregon State University, and it’s time that I start to focus on my thesis project.

A few of my colleagues studying rhetoric and composition have created research blogs, and when one was e-mailed by Nancy Sommers last term, I was really impressed by the potential for communication within the blogosphere. Sommers is the Director of Harvard’s Expository Writing Program, and reading her article “Between the Drafts” (CCC 43 (1992): 23-31) was a moment of particular inspiration during my first term here, Fall 2007. While I don’t expect Harvard scholars to be contacting me because I created a blog, I do hope that people will pass along some ideas, questions, and insights.

More recently, I’ve been studying Classical rhetoric. Well, to be honest, I’ve really just browsed the surface of rhetoric in a class on the rhetorical tradition and the history of writing instruction. My research for this course has involved Classical rhetoric’s role in pedagogy today, and I am exploring how a reemergence of Classical (Greek, Roman) practices in secondary education and first-year composition courses might have positive affects on civic engagement. I think there is room within curricula for more study of Classical rhetoric, and it could lead to more community involvement, greater knowledge of state and national politics, familiarity with legislative processes, and effective critical analysis of the positions taken by elected leaders. A better world, right? Well, for the moment, it’s making sense on paper. I feel like this could be the starting point for my thesis, but I’m still trying to focus my approach. Two key essays have guided my research so far: Carolyn R. Miller’s “The Polis as Rhetorical Community” (Rhetorica, 11.3 (1993): 211-240), and Mark Gellis’s “Leadership, Rhetoric, and the Polis” (Journal of Technical Writing and Communication, 32.3 (2002): 199-208).

A separate area of interest that I might like to develop in my thesis involves preparing high school students for writing in college—not just the first-year composition course (although, that’s important, too), but developing students’ ability to write across the curriculum and enter specialized discourses. Communication between instructors and composition directors at the college level and high school teachers and administrators is, at the very least, lacking; the result is that college professors (particularly those whose students are required to write) openly wonder what the hell these kids learned in high school. Meanwhile, high school teachers, principals, and curriculum coordinators work to meet state and Federal reading and writing requirements in the secondary classroom while feeling uncertain about what’s really important for their students to succeed in college, and how to address those needs. Many educators are frustrated, but few find avenues for communication, time for research, or practical solutions. It might be nice to research these elements more carefully and apply my time and effort toward possible solutions. However, this is a broad, general discussion, and at times I’m not even sure where to start, or how.

Well, I’ve rambled on long enough for one entry! More to come, no doubt.

A good way to start:

Many thanks to the Waldo Hall rhetoric people for passing this along.  A philosophy professor called this "political speech as art."

My friend Rob recently mentioned that I, apparently, predicted Obama was going to be the party's next nominee following his keynote speech at the 2004 Democratic Convention.  I don't mean to pat myself on the back, though--just check out the man's pathos: